Look West

The Coast Range is badass.

There, I said it. It's no secret, but you'd think it was after spending a day enjoying the wet and musty, stanky and crusty, bulbous and busty coast range of Oregon. Wild anadromous salmonids that wreck your flies with abandon, freshy fresh wild mushrooms in mature forest, lunches spent gazing out at the largest body of water on the planet. And with a little extra effort we had it all to ourselves.
















The clouds cooperated for most of the morning. Cooperating in this sense means that they were there. Sea-run Cutts have an aversion to sunlight resembling vampires... vampires that school up and run into coastal streams with the seemingly single-minded intent of annihilating any bright fly stripped inches under the surface, and then battle with the pissed-off panache of a coked up midget at a prizefight.




They come brighter than this, but rarely any prettier. Thanks, big guy.



Break for lunch: Summer sausage, natural cheddar and italian bread as the waves crash 40 yards away. Wash it down with some homebrewed stout and the finest oatmeal-cranberry-white chocolate-dark chocolate cookies you've ever tasted. Back to the woods.



The forest out there is like one huge salad bowl of free lunch. Look, good people, and ye shall find. Though it certainly helps if you look for mossy-floored mature forest with plentiful amounts of oregon grape.



I'm no expert, but careful study of my treasured copy of the Junior Coastal Mycological Society Field Guide: Vol. 4 leads me to believe that this is one of the first flushes of the year. It should only improve from here until the real cold sets in.


Dinner time:






The prep.



Ready to go, next to a side of fresh broccoli sauteed with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cashews and almonds.


The aftermath.


Now just sit down with your favorite adult beverage, tie some more blueback flies, and get ready for the next time.